The use of Nutraceuticals as Mono- or Adjuvant Therapy to Pharmacotherapies in Major Depressive Disorder

Objectives: The present review provides an overview of the appropriate literature on the use of nutraceuticals in depression. The goal was to examine whether nutraceuticals, in combination with the current pharmacotherapies or even as mono-therapies, could be effective in depressive patients.

Methods: A literature search was conducted on PubMed database for articles using the terms: ‘major depressive disorder’, ‘tricyclic antidepressants’, and ‘SSRIs’ combined with ‘nutraceuticals’, ‘pharmacotherapies’, ‘adjuvant therapies’, ‘amino acids’, ‘biochemical disturbances’, ‘(precursors of) neurotransmitters’, ‘tryptophan’, ‘tyrosine’, ‘phenylalanine’, ‘omega-3 fatty acids’, ‘omega-6 fatty acids’, ‘S-adenosylmethionine’, ‘B-vitamins’, ‘folate’, ‘methyl folate’, or ‘vitamin B12’. Search results were manually reviewed, and relevant reviews and studies were selected for inclusion as suitable.

Results: Nutraceuticals may relieve depressive symptoms. In particular tryptophan, omega-3 fatty acids, S-adenosylmethionine, and folate as mono- or adjuvant therapy to current pharmacotherapies in depressive disorder may enhance response and increase efficacy.

Discussion: Some nutraceuticals administered as mono- or adjuvant therapy may be useful in the treatment of depressive disorder. Nevertheless, accurate medical diagnoses and consideration of all possible treatments should always be the first step in addressing depressive disorder. Therapy with nutraceuticals should be supervised and doses be adjusted for each patient individually to achieve optimal outcomes.